Eye health with our kids - a visit to the optometrist!

Have you taken your kids to see a optometrist? Not sure when you should? How does one do a eye exam on children who can't read letters yet?

Our members had the privilege of visiting Dr Rajan and his team at Calgary Vision Care in their location at Crossiron Mills Mall.

DID YOU KNOW.....  that the best a child can see by the age of 8 will be the best they can see for the rest of their life?  

That is because vision is a learned phenomenon, it is not a skill that you born with which is a common misconception. Therefore many parents make a critical error in bringing their children for their first eye exam far to late and thus creates a potential for their child’s brain to not reach its full potential to develop and process vision.  This is why amblyopia (commonly known as “Lazy Eye”), is the leading cause of VISION LOSS under the age of 40.  It is greater than all other eye diseases and injuries combined! 

Having your child’s eye’s examined in their first 

8 – 12months and then on an annual basis after that is crucial in PREVENTING this type of vision loss.

Our members had a great time exploring the instruments and tools used in a eye exam.

During a child's eye exam Dr Rajan uses different instruments, skill sets and tools to examine their eyes than he does with adults. Recognizing that children are different and some have different needs and therefore need a different type of exam that needs more time and care. 

Thank you to Dr Rajan and team we had a  great time!

Be sure to book your child's eye exams with the team at Calgary Vision care! 

www.calgaryvisioncare.com/home.html

momstown Community Celebration 2014!

presented by:

You're invited to momstown's Community Celebration at Southcentre  Mall a FREE family event! Centre Court will be all about momstown! Showcasing our program pillars you can find local business whose focus is all about families. Join us and discover what momstown is all about with activities for the kids, face painting, and of course cake! 

Where: Southcentre Mall, 100 Anderson Road SE , Calgary AB 

Date:April 14, 10am-2pm

Stay tuned for more details!

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbrite

Family Day Activities in Calgary

Joined by guest blogger Sonja from Sonja's Super Suggestion 4 YYC Families shares her findings for Family Day Long Weekend activities! 

So once again this fine city of ours is run amock with all kinds of fun happenings to keep our families busy during this Family Day long weekend. Even more exciting news is that the "big thaw" seems to be upon us and for that I can almost hear all you Mommas loudly hollering 'hallelujah'!! The lack of fresh air has certainly got to our house these past few weeks that is for sure! But back to the task at hand... I am here to share with you all a tasty smorgasbord of delightful happenings all weekend long.

Family Day Weekend Activities

1. Bow Habitat Station: Family FISH-TIVAL

• Takes place Saturday Feb 15 10am-4pm. This event is awesome because there are outdoor activities involved FREE! Indoor activities cost $5/ person

• Find them on Facebook for more details

2. Heritage Park: Family Quest

• Runs Thursday Feb 13-Monday Feb 17 9am-9pm

• Takes place in Gasoline Alley and is included in the entrance fee. It is a hands on fun filled family quest where you all work together to complete challenges.

• As a bonus their 'Cars of the Big and Small Screen' exhibit is also taking place which is included in admission price ... I mean who doesn't love Herbie The Love Bug!

• Find more information HERE

3. Honen's Family Day Tradition

• Taking place Sunday Feb 16 at 2pm. This is a lesser known traditional Family Day Calgarian event! Mother Goose and other stories will be performed by Judd Palmer of the Old Trout Puppet Theatre with beautiful piano accompanying the tales. It sounds like a enchanting afternoon and one which the kids would just soak up. 

• Tickets are $10 for ages 17 and under, $20 for adults. 

• Find more information including ticket purchase HERE

Finally, we have all of Mondays offerings. Family Day itself can be celebrated at the very popular and always extremely busy.

4. Fort Calgary Winter Carnival 

A FREE family event. There is oodles going on down there both inside and outside from games and crafts to wagon rides and Olympic themed scavenger hunts….We have had a blast there in the past but get there early as parking can be tricky! 

Find out more information HERE

5. Olympic Oval 

Also present their Family Fun Day on Monday which is another FREE event from 12pm-4pm. Included is ice skating (FYI helmets are essential, they won't let you skate without), face painting, bouncy houses and many sports demos. This is sure to be a fun filled time plus it's pretty cool to check out the Olympic Oval whilst the Olympics are happening, a good point of reference for the kids.

This last event for Monday is a new finding for me - eeeeeeeeek!!! I do love a good discovery! 

6. WOWFEST Magical Arts Festival 

 Running from Feb 17th - March 1st Wowfest has something for everyone - family friendly and adult only too! I smell a date night brewing The main event for Monday is a family friendly magic show taking place down at the Epcor Centre. Magic brings out the kid in all of us, the feeling of wonder, and laughing out loud. The Family Fun Magic Show is just right for anybody who loves magic! Bring the kids, bring the grandparents, and have a great time together. This one hour show will feature a variety of magicians with tricks up their collective sleeves to baffle and bemuse. The Family Fun Magic Show was a huge hit at the festival last year so it’s always best to buy tickets in advance. 

Check out their website for more information HERE

Looks like there is a whole lot of info there for you all to get your teeth into! Whatever you decide to do ENJOY it with a big slice of love and laughter!

 Thanks for reading and happy long weekend folks!

Sonja. 

Sonja's Super Suggestion 4 YYC Families

 

Toddler tantrums to struggling with independence ~ how to manage!

Toddlers, with the want and learning to have independence often we are faced with TANTRUMS. Our momstown mamas were thrilled to have Brenda join us to help with some strategies and advice on how we can work through these challenging years with our little ones.


First things first, when we think two years old we think 'Terrible Two's" but Brenda advises to look at it in a positive way .. "Terrific Two's". Most times our toddlers are having tantrums due to the fact they are frustrated trying to communicate or while trying to accomplish  something that is new and a potential challenge for them. Just like us adults we get frustrated but have the skills to cope and refocus our frustration where kids do  not yet.

How can we reduce the frustration that our toddlers experience?  

•  be patient
• teach them how to do the new task
• engage them in age appropriate activities
• let them lead an activity (child directed play is amazing for increased self-esteem)
• get them to help out with chores/give them things to do 

Remember this is a stage that is short-lived and so much growth is occurring, it is amazing!!

Here is a  list of the things our toddlers can do around the house that seems to empower them!

• moves the laundry from the washer to dryer
• help empty the dishwasher (after you remove the sharps and anything of value)
• put the piles of folded clothing in an empty basket
• “wash” dishes ( fill up the sink throw in a few cups or utensils that are already clean)
•  puts toys away (not always where they are supposed to go but close enough)

 How can we handle the tantrums?

• Get down to their level so you are not towering over them

•  Try to empathize with them , it may work sometimes but not always

•  Then try to distract them by encouraging them to engage in a different activity or I help them accomplish the task that is frustrating for them

•  If that is not working, try pulling out various parenting tools see http://parentingfoundations.net/overflow-parenting-toolbox/ for some more suggestions

Thank you Brenda for joining us! 

Check out Brenda's website for more information and to book your FREE 15 minute consultation.

http://parentingfoundations.net/

Indoor Playgrounds in Calgary!

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           Click HERE to read further!

Valentine's Day Cooking with Kids: Pink Lemonade Cake

One of our momstown program pillars is Nutrition, and each month momstown kids get busy in the kitchen creating their own mini meals! Learning fun new ways to create child’s snacks and treats in this hands-on program.

To celebrate Valentine's Day coming up at Jr Chef this month we made Chef Hats , using simple poster board bands, tissue paper and stickers to decorate.  




Cut the poster board  into a
 strip to fit around your child's head, color it, wrap and tape so its a circle like a hat, line the inside with tape and stuff tissue paper up inside sticking to the tape so it makes a "puff" out the top of the paper circle.





Next the kids mixed up bowl of icing sugar with a little water to make a glaze for their mini Pink Lemonade cakes then finished with some sprinkles and candies! Thank you to Sugar Baby Aprons for the recipe.


Pink Lemonade Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs room temperature
2  3/4 cup flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4  tsp salt
1 cup frozen pink lemonade
1 tbsp lemon zest
Pink food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 
2.Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. 
3. Beat the butter for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat another 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly after each addition. 
4. Start adding the flour mixture one cup at a time, and alternate with the lemonade; ending with the flour mixture, mix well. 
5. Pour into prepared greased cake pans. 
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or when a knife comes out clean 
7. Let cool completely. Ice with your favorite icing OR mix a icing sugar and water glaze.

Want to join our monthly Jr Chef program or any of our 20+ programs each month? Click HERE to sign up and join our community.

Alphabet Play - "R" is for Road and "O" is for Olympics

momstown’s own alphabet crafts come to life in this program focused on early literacy and letter sounds.

Each month we cover a different letter with a creative craft all incorporated into lots of playtime.

January was all about the letter "R" as we incorporated our monthly theme of Planes, Trains and Automobiles into our program.

February is all about the Olympic fever, so it was only suiting to have "O" for Olympics as our focused letter this month!

Our monthly Alphabet Play program is sponsored by Post Cereal Alpha-Bits. Our members and tots enjoy a light snack while they get creative then one lucky mama gets to take a box home!

Want to join us? Sign up today HERE